Dakar: Volkswagen Motorsport final day quotes

Team quotes after final stage (15)
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"We're looking back on a Dakar Rally which has given us a lot of great
moments as well as a bitter disappointment. Volkswagen had ten outstanding
days when we ...

Team quotes after final stage (15)

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)

"We're looking back on a Dakar Rally which has given us a lot of great
moments as well as a bitter disappointment. Volkswagen had ten outstanding
days when we claimed stage victories, five good days when we finished the
stages in places two and three, and one black day when an identical damage
to the engine's valve train caused both of our best-placed vehicles to lose
ground with no chance for recovery and our chances for victory vanished. So
we're extending our congratulations to Stephane Peterhansel and Mitsubishi,
the overall winners of the 2007 Dakar Rally. The tasks we set for ourselves
after the 'Dakar' a year ago have been fully accomplished, in some areas
we've clearly achieved improvements: The drivers and co-drivers, the entire
team, logistics and the Race Touareg were better than in 2006. With the
refined version of the Race Touareg we set the pace on all the stages and
dominated the rally with a commanding lead from the very first day until
suffering this dual set-back on the ninth leg. Ten of 14 possible stage
victories speak for themselves. This improved performance becomes
particularly evident when you look at the three most demanding legs in the
sand of Mauritania, two of which we won and the third of which we were
leading up to being struck by the defect. In the final analysis, this has
again been an outstanding Dakar Rally, a very well organised event, with
changed rules for navigation that proved to work well yet again, with
precise roadbooks, a great atmosphere and thrilling sport."

#303 -- Carlos Sainz (E), 2 nd place (leg) / 9th place overall

"It was a great rally for myself and the entire team. I'm really satisfied
with the development of the Race Touareg 2 between 2005 and 2007. Volkswagen
has claimed ten of 14 stage victories, and in highly different conditions at
that -- when it comes to the strengths of this vehicle, this says it all. I
feel more disappointed about the fact that in the end we had no more chance
for victory for the team than for myself."

#303 -- Michel Périn (F), Carlos Sainz's co-driver

"Even though we weren't able to win I walk away with a good feeling because
the step we took from last year to this 'Dakar' has been huge. Carlos and I
were often the course-opening car and in spite of this I didn't commit a
single navigation error -- and I'm glad about this, needless to say. Carlos
has long ceased to be a 'Dakar' rookie, he understands the tasks at hand
here perfectly. He listens to my commands very carefully even when I ask him
to brake, which is unusual for a rally driver. What's more, Carlos drives at
an impressive, high speed."

#305 -- Mark Miller (USA), 21st place (leg) / 4th place overall

"The great strides made with the evolution of the Race Touareg are really
remarkable. Volkswagen set the pace at all times. My new co-driver Ralph
Pitchford and I had a good time, we worked together very well in the
cockpit. A podium place would have been possible for us but we lost some
time helping our team colleagues. That was perfect teamwork and the natural
thing to do. I'm already looking forward to the 2008 'Dakar', we feel well
prepared."

#305 -- Ralph Pitchford (RSA), Mark Miller's co-driver

"Driving with Mark was fantastic. We're happy with the performance of the
entire team. The engineers, car chiefs and mechanics all did a superb job.
Unfortunately, Volkswagen didn't win. As far as the rally is concerned, it
was another super 'Dakar', which was demanding in every respect."

"The first half of the rally was really great. We proved that we, the entire
team and the Race Touareg are competitive in every way. Particularly on the
long stages in the sand we made great strides. Last week then started with a
big disappointment when we lost our lead. That was a bitter moment, although
such things can always happen in racing. After that, the situation was tough
for us because a few times we had to start very late and then had to
overtake much slower vehicles on the route. But even on the days when things
weren't going that well for us we learned a lot for the future."

#301 -- Dirk von Zitzewitz (D), Giniel de Villiers' co-driver

"For Giniel and myself, the 2007 'Dakar' went superbly up to the second part
of the marathon leg, exactly the way we'd wanted it to be. We were even
leading by half an hour when the defect hit us. Still, it was a good race
because we didn't only prove to ourselves but, even more importantly, to all
the others that we're capable of winning."

"I'm very happy with our performance in my eleventh Dakar Rally. The Race
Touareg is an outstanding car which makes me feel very comfortable and which
allowed me to keep the pace of the front runners at all times. Our Lagos
Team and the fielding squad from Phoenix Sport did a perfect job, the
support from Volkswagen was great -- I can only thank everyone for this. Of
course the most rewarding day of the rally was the day I won the first stage
in my native Portugal in front of this gigantic turnout of spectators and
then took the lead for two days."

#313 -- Andy Schulz (D) -- Lagos Team, Carlos Sousa's co-driver

"During the entire rally we were absolutely competitive. It was really good
fun. Working with Carlos was great. That we were looking for each other in
the sandstorm in vain for such a long time after getting stuck but freeing
ourselves again quickly was probably a funny thing, but for us, it was
simply a misfortune. After all, we were third on the leader board at the
time."